Diamond Edge bamboo rod

Question
Hello
I have an old bamboo fly rod with the trademark:  a diamond shape with the initials DE and an arrow piercing the DE inside the triangle.   It's 7.5' long, 3 sections, 5 eyes plus the one on the end of the tip, but it is missing the extra tip.   The wrappings look good and are a burgundy type color.  The reel attachment looks to be a nickel silver and the reel attachment site is Above the cork handle.  The rod is a hexagon shape.  It looks to be in fair condition.  It is stored in it's wooden form case and tied with cloth string.  It was found in an old house that my great aunt lived in.  She died many years ago.

I know the initials are for Diamond Edge and sold by hardware store Shapleigh in St. Louis and mass produced somewhere else.  Is there any value to these?  Do you know about how old it may be?  Or maybe you could suggest some internet sites I could research this rod at.

Thanks for your help
Jim and his daughter, Theresa

Answer
Theresa,

Diamond Edge rods were sold by Shapleigh Hardware in St. Louis.  They probably did not make the rods. Quality and value levels would be on a par with the mass production rods of Montague or Horrocks-Ibbotson. It's very likely , one of the above  firms is  the maker of the rods.  Another company, Heddon, which made a number or rods not under their name. I checked Sinclair's book on Heddon but no luck. Collector interest is not high, but individual examples can be decent fishing rods. The only place I have heard them mentioned is a couple of auctions and of course this web site, all-experts.

I can't help you much with the information I have. I do not know if it is a fly or casting rod. I can age rods in a general way and can id them as quality good or bad with pictures.

You are probably not going to find much on DE. They are not in my memory or books. And they are not very collectable because they aren't well known.  

So I looked for history of Shapleigh Hardware in St. Louis and found they quit selling as of 1960. Your rod could be  19th century, but most likely is 1950s and 60s. Perhaps you can try looking for other vintage hardware vintage collectors like the The Hardware Companies Kollectors Klub (THCKK) http://www.thckk.org/

Luck,
Mac
Please provide feedback, nominations are appreciated.